“I Do!” Design an Offer That Commences the Sales Marriage

After a lengthy screening process, the hiring committee feels they have found the right sales candidate for the company. Now comes the tricky part, how do you design an offer and go through the offer stage of the process without damaging the relationship with the candidate? Damaging? Many companies are not prepared to go through the offer step of the process and, due to that, damage the relationship with the candidate. This leads to one of two unfortunate conclusions. Either they lose the candidate or the candidate comes on-board, but with scar tissue. Applying some of the best practices from the sales world into a sales talent screening program helps to avoid that scenario.

The offer stage of the hiring process parallels the proposal phase of sales. Best practices in sales say that you don’t present a proposal until a thorough needs analysis has been completed. If a sales person is presenting a proposal to a prospect, he has acquired the information needed to design a solution, has discussed budget, has a full understanding of their solution requirements, and has set an expectation on pricing. This is certainly the case if the sales person is going to be successful in winning the account.

Looking at this process in contrast to the offer stage of the sales talent screening program, many of the same best practices from sales hold true. During the screening program, information needs to be gathered from the candidate to determine their financial requirements. Unfortunately, many sales talent screening programs focus exclusively on screening the candidate for fit, but do not consider the needs for the offer phase of the process. This leads to a last minute scurry to mine the information from the candidate or they design the offer blindly. Neither of those are best practices for the offer stage.

In sales, it is said that if you are going to lose, lose early. This prevents you from making a huge investment in a relationship that will not generate revenue. The parallel to screening sales talent is understanding the financial requirements of the candidate early enough to stop the process before over-investing in the relationship. There is no point in continuing a process with a candidate that requires a compensation level 25% above what you can offer. This probably seems logical, but hiring executives rarely focus on this as a de-selection element early in the process.

Just like discussing pricing with a prospect, the financial needs discussion requires finesse. The candidate knows that you are asking questions about their financials, just like a prospect knows a sales person is fishing for budget information. The better-skilled sales people tell their prospects, “I don’t want to waste your time by getting you excited about a solution that will not fit in your budget constraints…” In much the same way, this discussion can be had with the candidate, “I don’t want to excite you about an opportunity that might not be a match for your financial needs. As you look at making a change in position, what thoughts have you given to your compensation requirements?” With continued finesse, you can dig further into the mix of salary versus commission. Some candidates may rebuff this discussion as they feel the information will be used against them. In some instances, they are justified for having that concern. Hopefully, that is not the case in your company. We’ll come back to this point later. The bottom line is that the two goals of this phase are to gather information that allow you to formulate an offer and to de-select those candidates whose requirements exceed your financial package.

In sales, the proposal phase should not be like a magic show. The prospect should not be shocked by what is included in the proposal. In essence, the proposal is the documentation of what has already been discussed. No surprises. The same holds true for candidates. The time to review the compensation plan details is not after they are hired, or even at the offer stage. The compensation plan should be reviewed at the point where you have a genuine interest in pursuing the candidate and they have a complete enough understanding of the company that they will be able to comprehend the compensation plan.

One of the core requirements associated with any process is that it is measurable. The offer phase of the sales talent screening program should be measured statistically to determine effectiveness. The key statistic is number of offers made versus ones that are accepted. If the acceptance level is less than 80%, the process should be reviewed by asking the following questions.

At what point of the process are the candidate’s financial requirements reviewed?

When it is known that the candidate’s financial requirements exceed the package, is the candidate removed from the process?

At what step is the compensation plan reviewed with the candidate?

In what level of detail is the compensation plan reviewed with the candidate?

How often is the initial offer to the candidate rejected, and subsequently, negotiated successfully?

The last bullet in the list above ties back to my opening position about damaging the relationship. Again, this ties back to lessons that can be learned from sales. Many years ago, a procurement training specialist shared a pearl about the counsel he gives to sales people who ask about pricing strategy. He said, “Provide us with the best pricing that you feel comfortable providing and either way you are happy.” This always puzzled sales people so he explained further. “If you provide your best pricing and are selected, you are happy because you won the account. If you are not selected because we found lower pricing elsewhere, you are happy because you would not have been happy at that price point. Again, either way you are happy.”

Consider this when making an offer to the sales candidate. Develop an offer based on what was learned from the candidate that represents the best offer you are willing to make. Early in the process, tell the candidate that you don’t negotiate offers, but rather put your best offer on the table upfront. It demonstrates a professional message to the candidate and reduces their fear of attempts to lowball them. When companies negotiate offers, while they may “win” the candidate, they damage the relationship. This person is on-boarded with the worst scar tissue of all, a lack of trust. The sales person will always be on the look out for the company to try to cheat them.

As with any component of the sales talent screening process, preparation is the key to success. Organize your team and design a process that achieves your desired results. This will allow you to create longlasting, fruitful sales marriages.

1. Product Characteristics

What is the nature of the product(s) being sold? Is it tangible, abstract, or concrete?

What is the nature of the buying relationship? Is it a one-time, transaction sale or a repetitive, complex one?

Is the product a component of something broader (niche) or is it a comprehensive solution?

How recognizable is the product and company in the marketplace of your buyers?

In contrast to the competition, where is the product priced?

2. Buying Process

What are the expectations of the salesperson with respect to prospecting? Are you generating leads or are they expected to self-generate them?

How long is the buying process?

Is the product “off the shelf” or does it require the salesperson to creatively build a solution?

At what level is the purchasing decision made? Who are the other buying players that influence the purchasing decision?

What sales support is available for the salespeople? Is the salesperson required to go from end to end or is the salesperson only required to handle certain parts of the process?

3. Organizational Attributes

How flexible does someone need to be to survive in your environment? Think in terms of how often the organizational structure changes the compensation, and/or the territory.

What is the sales management approach? Is the sales manager a hands-on coach or a distant observer of performance?

What are you willing to teach to a salesperson? The product? Prospecting? Product positioning?

What aren’t you willing to teach to a salesperson? Sales 101? Prospecting?

What corporate baggage does your company have? What are the oddities that make it challenging for a salesperson to succeed in your environment? Is there a difficult individual in your company? Are there technical flaws that make it challenging to sell the product? This one requires true introspection and honesty.

With this exercise complete, you are ready to formulate your ideal salesperson profile which looks like this:

We want a salesperson who is experienced at selling

A product with the following attributes…

In a buying process that includes…

For a company characterized by…

Now that you have a profile for your ideal salesperson, don’t keep it a secret. Be sure that your entire leadership team has a copy of it! Share it with recruiters so they can deliver candidates that match it. Develop interview steps that allow you to measure if these candidates meet the profile. Formulate interview questions that expose these areas.

I concluded the meeting with a quick comparison of Willie’s skills and the company’s attributes. A marriage between these two would be disastrous! Although I wasn’t able to find Willie a new sales home, I did succeed in making the CEOs aware of the steps they need to take in order to create the best sales team possible for their company.